# Can you make a living on ebay? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 22, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-on-ebay/503802 "2009-07-22T00:12:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Victory\_Candescence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Victory\_Candescence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Victory_Candescence)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-on-ebay/503802/1 "2009-07-22T00:12:50Z")
Can you realistically make enough to live? How many hours of work per week? I’m sure more than 40. I tried searching the ebay forums and just got a bunch of crap (their search engine is garbage). I tried searching google, and all that comes up is “Make money on ebay! Buy our ebay biz kit now!” spam. What are some of the hidden caveats I don’t even realize yet? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-on-ebay/503802/2 "2009-07-22T01:52:58Z")
> [@Victory\_Candescence](#): > > What are some of the hidden caveats I don’t even realize yet? The big one is that obtaining enough sellable (and profitable) merchandise is hard. While it’s possible to make some decent pocket change off of eBay, I’ve never felt compelled to try for more than that because it just seems so hard to obtain the stuff needed to do it. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-on-ebay/503802/3 "2009-07-22T02:45:21Z")
My dad owns an ebay business and does quite well with it, but he doesn’t just collect crap and sell it online. He has a separate business and he decided to use ebay to set up a retail addition to his business and it took off like gangbusters. You can make good money but not by buying stuff at garage sales and selling it online. Well, maybe you can make money that way but I’ve never seen anyone be able to do it successfully. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-on-ebay/503802/4 "2009-07-22T02:58:22Z")
I’ve considered trying to find some products with a reliable dropshipper and selling them on eBay, but I’m hesitant because I do see some potential problems. [ul]What happens if the dropshipper doesn’t ship? I’d be responsible for the full cost, including whatever I’d sent to the dropshipper.[/ul] [ul]If I did find a reliable supplier with a product that sells well then, with such a low entry cost, what’s to stop others from copying me? The competition would drive me out.[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-on-ebay/503802/5 "2009-07-22T13:57:39Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > My dad owns an ebay business and does quite well with it, but he doesn’t just collect crap and sell it online. He has a separate business and he decided to use ebay to set up a retail addition to his business and it took off like gangbusters. You can make good money but not by buying stuff at garage sales and selling it online. Well, maybe you can make money that way but I’ve never seen anyone be able to do it successfully. I think this is the way it has to be done. I have a friend who made about $200,000 last year selling a few particular car parts. Now he does a good portion of his business selling direct to mechanics and dealers but unlike **pbbth** ’s dad he actually started as a purely ebay business and added the traditional channels after establishing himself. He only works about 20 hours a week and even with only ebay sales he’d clear 6 figures. So in a sense he’s living that “if it sounds too good to be true it is” dream you can find people selling books on attaining. There’s no way any random person could do what he does though. It’s not talent or acumen, there was a huge amount of luck for him and now he has some inertia. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-on-ebay/503802/6 "2009-07-22T14:16:37Z")
I know two people who do it. One sells vinyl records. He’s been doing it for YEARS, sells at flea markets and street fairs in addition to eBay (though eBay is what moved it from a hobby business to a ‘quit your job’ business). He buys his inventory from people wanting to get rid of their old records and estate sales and buys in lots. The other has a similar business selling used and new DVDs and CDs. Again, a lot of the value he gets comes from buying in lots and selling off the pieces for more than the whole. The other thing is that there is someone out there willing to pay a more for something that doesn’t come up very often - but you have to have inventory space and be willing to wait for someone who wants what you have. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-on-ebay/503802/7 "2009-07-22T14:31:41Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > I think this is the way it has to be done. I have a friend who made about $200,000 last year selling a few particular car parts. Now he does a good portion of his business selling direct to mechanics and dealers but unlike **pbbth** ’s dad he actually started as a purely ebay business and added the traditional channels after establishing himself. He only works about 20 hours a week and even with only ebay sales he’d clear 6 figures. So in a sense he’s living that “if it sounds too good to be true it is” dream you can find people selling books on attaining. > > There’s no way any random person could do what he does though. It’s not talent or acumen, there was a huge amount of luck for him and now he has some inertia. Where does he source his car parts? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-on-ebay/503802/8 "2009-07-22T14:42:28Z")
A good friend’s brother makes pretty decent coin off of ebay. Granted, his situation is somewhat unusual. He retired when in his 40s, after selling 2 gas stations he owned - so he has a decent sized nut. He lives in the boonies on a sizeable piece of land, where he engages in his hobby of rebuilding old airplanes. He travels extensively, buying and picking up relatively big ticket items cheap, then refurbishing them somewhat and reselling them. He does it somewhat as a hobby and to support his hobby, but I understand he makes a decent buck by doing so. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-on-ebay/503802/9 "2009-07-22T14:48:18Z")
I have a artist acquaintance who made his monthly rent by combing second hand stores in New Orleans (and later, NYC) for old t-shirts and selling them as vintage clothing with a significant mark-up. It helped that he has an eye for what might be marketable and he lived dirt-cheap. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-on-ebay/503802/10 "2009-07-22T15:14:39Z")
For a few years I had an eBay store, from which I sold prints of my photography. I sold enough to nicely supplement my income. Then eBay tripled its fees for eBay stores, effectively putting me - and many other people - out of business. I will never, ever, have anything to do with them. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-a-living-on-ebay/503802/11 "2009-07-22T23:46:49Z")
My parents are antique dealers and have a healthy Ebay wing of their business but thye still rely on their antique mall space to pay the bills. Luckily they are both gifted with a keen eye and have been able to actually IMPROVE their sales while people around them are closing up shop.